BREMEN, Ind. -- The town of Bremen will soon be more connected.
Officials broke ground Tuesday on a project to add new housing and a new trail.
It's all part of the GROWTH project, which stands for greenway, recreation, opportunities for wage growth, and transformational housing.
This three-mile trail will connect Bremen's east and west side parks, and schools as well.
"Bremen's very fortunate, we have a lot of parks, mostly due to people generously donating land, that's great, but you have to take care of that resource, and it's very spread out in our community, so to have a trail that connects all those parks together, is going to be amazing for the town," said Michael Leman, Bremen town council president.
Nearly four million dollars of this 40-million-dollar project comes from the Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative.
The "GROWTH" project also includes one of Bremen's first significant housing developments in years.
"A trail like this, it's not just for the park, it's for different neighborhoods, it's for community members, it's for visitors, and it ties together so many of the great amenities that might be hidden or not as visible because they don't have a great way to get to them, so new neighborhoods, two park systems, two school systems, a retirement community, all of that now has a Backbone linking it together," said Brian Main, Bremen parks and recreation superintendent.
After years of discussion and planning, Bremen Parks and Recreation superintendent Brian Main says seeing the project finally taking shape is a dream come true.
"Whether it's a sports state championship or a trail groundbreaking, nobody sees everything that went into that moment, so it's not so much about putting shovels in the ground, it's about everything that LED up to that moment, and you think about the meetings, the negotiations, the grant writing, everything that this moment is built on, and it's hard not to appreciate everyone's effort and work that went into this moment," said Main.
"People are excited to be able to walk a trail that connects all the way around. Right now, we've got walking trails in Bremen in our park system, but you have to drive there, and it might be a one-mile walk, right? You can't walk to it without necessarily having to take city streets, or if you're riding bikes and you've got small children, you really don't want to ride on the roads with them, so this will be a way to be safe, and include the entire family," said Leman.
There is expected to be more than 180 houses built as part of this project.